What Should Have Been our Happily Ever After
by The Mortal Factions
Summary: This fanfiction takes place after COHF. Jace and Clary are married and have just started living their happily every after, but when their twin babies are kidnapped, Jace, Clary, and the gang must delve back into things that they thought were buried and forgotten!
1. Chapter 1

"Jace come in here now!" I yelped from the back bedroom as Max threw another seraph blade at the teal wall. Jace and I have been married for 3 years and 2 years ago we were blessed with twins, whom we named Max William Herondale and Lilac Amatis Herondale.

"Clary what's going-" He broke off as he saw Max crouched on the floor with tears spilling down his chubby cheeks. Jace's golden eyes filled with worry as he scooped the small child into his arms. "Maxxy what's wrong?" The baby's strawberry curls bounced on his head as he continued to sob. Jace then turned to me and said, "Why are seraph blades all over the twins' room, and why is he so upset?"

"I don't know. I was just down stairs with Izzy and Alec and then I heard a bang from upstairs. I was so worried I thought Max had fallen out of the crib and hurt himself, but he was lying on the floor with your weapons belt chucking the seraph blades at the wall. God knows where he learned to do that!" Sighing, I pulled my ruby curls into a pony tail.

Jace let out a small chuckle; his laughter lighting up his angelic face. "Well on the plus side he's skilled with a seraph blade from the looks of the wall!"

"Reminds me of his father!" I said softly. Jace then walked over to the crib with 2 long strides and carefully laid Max down on the sky blue blanket. He had finally stopped crying, but his cheeks were still red and splotchy. Thankfully crying had tired the baby out, and he quickly fell asleep. I tiptoed over to Jace, and he engulfed me in a warm hug. "I wonder if they'll have special skills like us." I thought aloud.

"I bet! I mean what normal 2 year old can climb out of his 5 foot tall crib without hurting himself and then throw a seraph blade at the wall with perfect accuracy." He responded with a laugh.

"True." Jace then spun me around and kissed me lightly on the lips. I felt like it had been such a long time since we had had some peace and quiet. I kissed him back eagerly, and before long our kisses had turned into strong, passionate ones.

"Naughty, Naughty! Making out in the presence of a baby. I thought you two knew better!" Izzy chastised with mock seriousness.

"Lord Isabelle have you ever heard of knocking!" Jace muttered under his breath.

"I heard that young man!" Izzy said with a laugh. "Anyways, I came in here to tell you that the Simon just came back from Taki's with the food." Simon had ascended and had become a shadowhunter after a demon had stolen his memories. The majority of his memory had resurfaced thanks to a spell Magnus created, but there were still brief instances when a confused look would take over his face almost as if he forgot why he was there. Simon had also been doing pretty well in his shadowhunter training, nowhere near the skill level of any of us, but deffinetely getting there.

"Okay, thanks for telling us Iz." As the three of us made our way down stairs, I could hear the warm sound of Alec and Simon's laughter coming from the living room. Since his ascension, Alec had grown to like Simon much more either out of sympathy or simply because they had spent more time together and Alec had begun to like him. Regardless of the reasons, the two boys were draped on the leather couch, cheering and laughing as they watched a World Cup game. Jace strut over and gracefully lowered himself down next to them on the couch and said,

"Don't worry boys. I'm here, so now the real party can start." "

More like now the real party can end." Alec said with a laugh. While I watched them with Isabelle from the doorway, my heart filled with admiration and gratitude. Thinking about a life without her best friends was not even imaginable. A small smile on Izzy's face confirmed that she was thinking the same thing.

"So where's this food? I'm starving!" I asked Simon while walking over and plopping down on the floor in front of Jace. Simon pointed a slender finger towards the kitchen without tearing his coffee brown eyes away from the US v.s. Ghana game. In the kitchen, our wooden table was covered with styrofome boxes filled with various foods.

"The box with spaghetti and meatballs is on the counter just for you!" Simon shouted over the blaring TV.

"Thanks Si," I yelled back while pouring the pasta into a bowl and popping it in the microwave. A loud knock on the front door, interrupted my mouthwatering thoughts of how yummy the pasta would be. Without waiting for someone to answer, the door opened revealing Magnus. He was wearing shiny gold pants and a long black trench coat speckled with golden sparkles. Under his trench coat he had a rainbow tied dye dress shirt. The little body of Lilac squirmed in his arms.

"Clarissa," Magnus began, "You have one obnoxious baby."

"What'd you try to do put glitter in her hair?" I asked with an exasperated laugh. "

I tried to put glitter eyeliner on her actually! But she squirmed away and started crying for her Mommy," he said as if putting glitter eyeliner on a baby was a normal thing to do.

"Well thanks for taking her around the park. She's been begging to go outside and everyone, myself included, just wanted to watch the game."

"No problem Biscuit, that's what grandparents are for, right Alec!" Magnus replied with a glittery wink. Alec's response was drowned out by the loud boos as Ghana scored. Magnus left me to watch the game and deliver Lilac to Jace, which allowed me to go grab my food from the kitchen and return to my spot against Jace's legs. His worn jeans were soft against my back as I hungrily ate up my spaghetti.

"Woah Clary, who knew you could eat so much," Alec remarked, clearly impressed.

"That's why I married her," Jace said while leaning down to kiss the top of my head.

"That and you finally found someone prettier than yourself," I added. Jace let out a chuckle and then leaned down to whisper that the fact that I was outstanding in bed was another. reason that simply could not be overlooked. I turned around to smack his arm, but he easily caught my hand and kissed the back of it.

After finishing the game, which ended in the US beating Ghana 2-1, everyone parted their seperate ways, and Jace went up to put a sleeping Lilac in her crib next to Max's. When he returned, Jace stood in middle of the room allowing the light coming in from the window to shine down on his golden hair. The sun in his hair and the tan he had gotten from their day at the beach last week made him resemble an angel descending down from heaven.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" He asked with a nervous laugh. Instead of responding, I pulled him down on the couch and kissed him hard on the mouth. He kissed back eagerly and wound his hands in my hair. I yanked off his shirt allowing my hands to explore his body. My pale hands were a stark contrast agains honey brown skin. He released a low groan as my hands trailed down to his pant line. His lips found their way away from my mouth and onto my neck. Everywhere our bodies touched my skin burned and tingled. It amazed me that even after being together for so long, his touch still made it feel like it was our first time back in the cave. My mind danced at the memory, and I flipped him over so that I was above him. In doing that, Jace had easy access to tear my shirt and bra off. I leaned down to kiss his jaw when an ear piercing scream made me freeze.

"Seriously could that baby have worse timing!" Jace got out through labored breaths. I kissed him once on the cheek and forced myself to climb off of him. Removing myself from Jace was like ripping off a giant bandaid, and without the warmth from his hands on my body or my shirt, I shivered.

"It's okay. I'll go check on them." I said with a soft sigh. Nowadays, it seemed that Jace and I were always either too tired or interrupted from ever doing anything. But I had to remind myself that this was just a small cost for having the best thing in the world: the twins.

"Are you sure baby? I don't mind. I can-" I shushed him with a light kiss on the lips, and then pulled on my shirt that Jace had thrown across the room.

The wooden steps creaked under my feet as I made my way up to the twins room. As soon as I stepped in the room, I could sense that something was off. The window was open heating up the room with hot New York air. I made my way over to the two cribs and felt my heart drop to the floor. Both cribs were empty apart from a small note. The note was written in red ink that looked earily like blood. It read: "This is the beginning of our revenge. You knew it would come oneday. We have not forgotten what you did to our Lord Sebastian. And now you will pay." As if from very far away, I heard myself scream and felt the hard ground below me as a world of darkness swallowed me up.


	2. Chapter 2

"Well do you really think the Fair Folk would really be so stupid as to rally against the clave. I mean come on they are the weakest they have ever been. And their numbers are nothing compared to ours." I heard Alec say. My head was aching and wherever I was smelled faintly of cleaning product. I prepared myself, and then slowly opened up my eyes. I was blinded by the fluorescent lights of the Institute's infirmary and my head began to ache even more. My whole body felt sluggish.

"I don't care who took them! I just want my babies back!" Jace cried. I had never seen him sound so heartbroken and vulnerable. I felt my heart contract as the memories of the twins' empty room flooded through my mind.

"They are still missing?" I croaked. My throat burned and I felt my eyes watering.

"Oh my god, Clary! I was so worried. God I love you so much! You know that right?" Jace's voice cracked. It seemed that every single one of the walls that Jace worked so hard to keep up were down. He bent down and kissed my cheek, then my forehead, and finally my lips.

"How long..." I began.

"Have you been out? About 2 days. When you fainted you hit your head and got knocked out. I think you were just so heartbroken and sleep deprived that it took you so long to wake up. There is still no sign of the twins, but Izzy and Simon are with the clave right now investigating, and Magnus is meeting with different down world representatives. Everyone in all of the shadow world is looking for them, so it's pretty likely they'll turn up." Alec informed me. There was a forced smile painted on his lips and his big blue eyes were filled with sympathy.

"Help me sit up." I commanded. Both Alec and Jace hurried over to my side to help me, but Jace shoved Alec away and insisted on him helping me. A look or hurt flashed across Alec's face but disappeared and was replaced with a look of pity. Jace's golden hair look messy and unwashed, and there were huge, dark bags under his eyes. It was clear that he was just as sleepdeprived and heartbroken as me. When Jace lifted me up into a sitting position, he attempted to smile, although it didn't reach his eyes. After I was positioned in a somewhat comfortable position, Jace went on to explain that the clave suspects that the Fair Folk are behind the kidnappings because of their relationship with Sebastian, but he thinks that they wouldn't be stupid enough to rebel so soon after the repair in the accords. All of this talk was making my head hurt.

"I just hope they don't kill Lilac and Max. I don't know how I would live with myself." The worry in my heart seemed to grow impossibly more.

"Clary, it's not like.. I mean how could that possibly be your fault?" Jace asked quietly. Something in me cracked. What did he mean how could it possibly be my fault? It's a mothers dying job to look after her babies, and I failed.

"What the hell do you mean Jace! It's my job to keep them safe, and I was to busy fooling around with you to give a damn about them. God I just need to be alone. Just get out, Jace." I cried. I couldn't keep the tears from spilling out of my eyes. Everything seemed to be going wrong. The look of hurt on Jace's face was too much to bear. Alec pulled him out of the room and the sudden silence left me alone with my guilt and regret. My mind was a battle of thoughts fighting for dominance and before long I couldn't handle the million regrets swirling around in my head.

I slowly raised myself up so that my feet were hanging down from the Institute's infirmary bed. Carefully I stood up and slipped into my faded black combat boots that had been taken off of me sometime during my stay in the infirmary. The worn leather felt nice and familiar under my feet as I made my way to one of the many spare bathrooms in the Institute.

Once inside of one, I stripped out of my filthy clothes and hopped in the shower. I stood in the freezing water. The tiny droplets cascading off of my body one by one. The melodic symphony of the pitter patter of shower water against the tile lulled me into a dreamlike state. It was easy to forget all the worries and just drift off. Today, I was brought back to my days spent in Alicante. The lush green meadows and rich blue sky lit up behind my eyelids. I thought of Amatis's little house. The Accords Hall. The Wayland Manor. The flashes of memories and places danced through my mind. When the memory of Sebastian breaking into Amatis's house and Jace saving me found it's way into my mind, everything seemed to freeze.

I suddenly realized how selfish I was being. As I threw a pity party in the shower, my children were missing and everyone I knew was doing everything in their power to get them back; except me. Without wasting another second, I turned the shower dial off and dashed out of the shower, the door slamming behind me. I threw a towel around my body and sprinted to Isabelle's room and opened up the first drawer I could find. Inside clothes were overflowing from it. I pulled on a pair of dark skinny jeans and a ruby tank top. I then slipped back into my combat boots that I had brought with me from the bathroom.

After dressing as quickly as possible, I made my way to the Institute Library. I had figured that the whole institute would be empty, so I was surprised to find Jace sitting on the wooden bench infront of the piano. "Jace..." I began. "I'm sorry for yelling at you like that. I shouldn't have." Jace turned at stared at my face before finally giving me a small smile and saying that it was okay. I knew how important it was to not take my frustration out on my friends and Jace most importantly, because they were all I had. I reached for the old navy telephone on one of the many tables in the library and dialed up the number I had memorized.

After two rings a soft voice answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Tessa, it's me Clary. I don't know if you've heard but my, well Jace and my twins have been kid-"

"Kidnapped. I know. Zachariah heard from the LA Institute and then informed me. I'm so sorry, Clary. I wish there was someway I could help." Tessa said with a sad voice.

"But I think there is. You worked in the spiral labrynth right? Well I was wondering if any of the warlocks had details of the relationship between Sebastian and the Seelie Queen?"

"Yes, after the end of the Dark War we had made adjustments in the Labyrinth. As far as we know the relationship was strictly buisness. The faeries were convinced Sebastian was going to win the war, so they sided with him."

"That's what everyone says, but maybe there was something more between Sebastian and the Queen. I don't know, but the way she had spoken of him when we were in her court. It was almost like... maybe.. they had some sort of love affair." I told Tessa. I could feel my cheeks burning and knew Jace was watching me. My skin tingled as I felt his golden eyes pierce into me. I had never told him this before, and it was clear he was angry with me.

"Well Clary, that's something that certainly could be possible, although I don't see how we could prove that or even if we did, I don't see why would it be of importance." I could hear the sympathy and confusion in her voice. I needed her to understand.

"Well I was just thinking if they had more than just a business thing, then the Queen could have more of an incentive to get revenge, right?"

"Yes indeed. I'll tell Je- Zachariah your theory. And Clary I really am sorry for you and Jace. I promise you I will do everything in my power to return your twins to you," Tessa said. Clary could hear the truth in her voice, and knew, without a doubt, that Tessa would indeed follow through with her promise.

"Thanks so much Tessa! Tell Zachariah I say thanks also." And with that I hung up. I turned around to see Jace watching me. He looked very confused but the anger I sensed earlier had seemed to subside. Before Jace could ask, I explained to him my theory that possibly Sebastian and the Seelie Queen had had a love affair, but secretly Sebastian was just using her so that he could have the aid from faeries. I told him that because of this love affair the queen could be furious with us and the Clave for defeating Sebastian. Her love for Sebastian could blind her so much that she would kidnap our babies.

"Wow! Thats so gross and creepy but super possible. Although getting prof of that is next to impossible. I think that instead of focusing on their "love affair" we could just try to get some evidence that the faeries as a whole are involved and then more forward from there." Jace sounded confident, but there was still some doubt that seeped into his voice.

"Yeah. That's probably a lot easier." I could hear how deflated I sounded. I had been so sure that the Queen and Sebastian had had something going on, but just now I realized how useless that would be. Jace gave me a sad smile and pulled me into him. He encircled me inside of his arms. I felt so safe and protected, as if inside of Jace's arms nothing could touch me.

"Its going to be okay. We will get the twins back. I promise," Jace whispered. He twisted me around so that I was facing him and kissed a tear that had escapen.

"Don't make promises you can't keep."


	3. Chapter 3

The door slammed shut as Isabelle and Simon walked into the Institute's library. "Great everyones here. Now lets begin." Clary said as a form greeting.

"You still haven't explained why we are here." Magnus began with an irritated sigh. "Alec and I were planning to give Chairman Meow a sponge bath."

"Now doesn't that sound enticing." Jace said dryly.

"Stop. You're here because we need to break into the Faerie Court." I told them with a firm tone. I was channeling every single ounce of my being into making sure this break in went perfectly. I couldn't bear to imagine what would happen if we didn't find any evidence that the Faeries had kidnapped Lilac and Max.

"Damn. I thought we were finally through with that bitch." Simon complained while pulling self consciously on the hem of his sweater. He was wearing a brand new maroon sweater, most likely Izzy's doing, and it seemed that any second he would go sprinting away to change into one of his many faded t-shirts that had ridiculous phrases on them.

After some bicker, I finally got to explaining that we were going to look for more clues about whether or not the Queen kidnapped Lilac and Max.

"Okay, but how on earth are we going to get around without being seen?" Alec, being the only reasonable one, questioned. "I mean we can't exactly blend in with the Fair Folk."

"Thats the best part," I began. "I came up with a new rune that will make us invisible for long enough to check out the court. I don't know exactly how long it'll last, but from the test I did with Jace, it should last about 15 minutes."

"Well then, lets go break into the Faerie Court." Isabelle shouted enthusiastically.

"Should I just wait here until you get back?" Magnus inquired.

"Nope the rune should be fine on you," I told Magnus. I was so happy to finally be doing something to help my twins, I could feel myself practically glowing.

And with that, it was time to open up the portal that would take us to the heart of the Court. A gust of cool air engulfed me as I finished the rune and the portal opened. No matter how many times I made one, it still amazed me that _I_ had the power to transport people anywhere in the whole dimension.

"Your fantastic you know that." Jace whispered in my ear, while laying a light kiss on my cheek. I turned around in his arms to see a small smile playing on his lips. In that moment, I felt a surge of love towards him so strong the my whole body was overtaken by it. I loved every part of Jace Herondale from the way his golden hair looked perfectly disheveled to the way he looked at me with his eyes shining as if I was the most beautiful person he had ever seen.

"I love you so much." I whispered back.

"Alright love birds, we do have a court to break into." Simon reminded us.

"True. Well, I guess now would be the best time to apply the runes. Since you all are here together, you'll be able to see each other, but no one else can." Stele in hand, I began to apply the invisibility rune on everyone. It seemed to flow through me and out of my stele as if the two were connected. It was like the stele was just an extention of my arm so to speak. We just became one.

After I had applied all of the runes, 4 shadowhunters, 1 warlock, and 1 ex-vampire-newly-made-shadowhunter leaped into the portal. The feeling of going through a portal the first time was like nothing I had ever imagined. It seemed that my whole body had been shaken up and rearranged. It had gotten easier each time, but even portaling now, I was still left with a wave nausea after landing.

"Ew! It looks like Spring threw up in here." Jace scoffed.

Looking around, I saw what Jace had seen. Which looked, startlingly, like Spring had indeed emptied it's stomach contents in the Court. The room was a swirl of a seemingly infinite amount of flowers and no two seemed to be the same, but thankfully there didn't seem to be a Faerie in sight.

"Where are they all?" Simon asked.

"I don't know. But I've never seen the place so empty." Izzy responded with a small shudder. "And wait it looks like the Queen's bedroom is empty and unguarded."

"Wait! What if it's a trap?" Alec asked warily. It seemed that being back in the Court brought up unwanted memories him. And based on Alec's expression, he couldn't wait to get out of this place.

"I suppose theres only one way to find out." Jace said while starting off toward the bedroom door.

Without a moment's hesitation, I ran after him. All I could think about was finding Max and Lilac. The door gave a small creak as Jace opened, but no guards jumped out from behind the doors and nothing seemed to give off the vibe of a trap. It was as you would expect of a Faerie's bedroom , all but for the white crib in the far corner of the room. I almost collapsed with relief; it just had to be Lilac and Max's crib. I sprinted over to it and threw my arms out to hug the tiny bodies of Lilac and Max. I was stopped short when I saw the crib was holding just one child whom was neither Lilac or Max. I could almost hear my heart breaking. The baby had pale hair, and when he opened his eyes, I could feel bile rising up in my throat. The baby had no ordinary eyes. Instead, it had jet black eyes, the precise color of Sebastian's. I heard a small gasp escape from my throat, before, for the second time in one week, my whole world went dark, and I fell into an abyss of nothingness.


	4. Chapter 4

_Jocelyn's ruby curls bounced as Luke spun her around. Her soft face was alight with laughter. The grass, damp and comforting beneath me, was a lush forest green from a recent rain storm. The sun showered down around me covering the world in a sheet of golden light. The air was filled with a sharp aroma of something that smelled faintly of wine and chocolate._

_I glanced around me looking for something that would alert me as to where I was. I turned back to Luke and my mom and thought of asking where we were, but seeming them so udderly happy and free, I just couldn't bring myself to interrupt them. Instead, I stood up and began to walk towards a small shed next to the forests edge. Apart from the squishing sound of my brown sandals on the grass, the only other sound was the soft hum of conversation between Luke and my mom._

_Finally, when I reached the shed, I could see that it was rundown and beaten up. It seemed to have been abandoned and forgotten for many years. The deep burgundy door creaked as I opened it, revealing a round bundle of blankets. The small head of a sleeping baby was just visible from a opening in the blankets. Taking a closer look at the baby, I could see that it's eyes were pupilless. The baby's entire eye was a deep, never ending hole of darkness._

A small scream escaped from my throat and I jerked up. I quickly remembered where I was and what I had just seen. One thought pounded through my head. There was another demon baby in the world. There was another Sebastian.

I opened my eyes and saw Jace, Alec, Magnus, Izzy, and Alec in a small huddle surrounding the crib. Jace and Alec wore mirroring expressions of disgust. Magnus on the other hand, was staring at the demon child with intense interest and curiosity. Simon had a look of complete surprise and confusion on his face, and Izzy's was completely masked by the black sheet of her long hair.

Warily, I stood up and walked towards them. Jace pulled me against him and encircled me with shaking arms. "So their relationship clearly wasn't all business." I managed to get out. My mind was a carnival or horror and hysteria.

"What do we do now?" Simon asked, bewildered.

"We kill it. Now! Before he turns into another Sebastian." Alec growled. His blue eyes were clouded with rage and his cheeks were slightly inflamed.

"Stop Alexander," Magnus said while restraining Alec with a long arm. "If we kill it, the queen will just do the same with Lilac and Max."

"Shit! Your right. God what ever happened to happily ever after." Jace spat. All color was drained from his face and he looked eerily like vampire Simon.

"Well why don't we just kidnap it and hold a sort of trade with the her. Burn for burn right?" Simon offered.

"Trying to outsmart the Seelie Queen or make any trades with her is like making a deal with the devil. No matter what, it'll just come back to sting you." Isabelle replied with pursed lips.

"As many of you know, Faeries don't take trespassing lightly! Especially not from you, Nephilim." A cool, shrill voice called from the doorway.

In unison, all of us sprung around to see a bony, blue haired girl staring at us with large red eyes. I heard someone suck in a deep breath as I walked cautiously toward the Faerie girl.

Bending over to be at the same height as the child, I searched her eyes for something to hint at any humanity. All I saw was years old cruelty and hardness. She seemed to have aged well beyond her years. It was sad to think about how the Dark War caused so many children to mature and skip all those awkward, yet happy years between child and adulthood.

"I know and completely respect your wishes, but you see my friends and I are old friends with the Queen persay. And we have been meaning to stop by and visit her-" I broke off unsure of what to call that demon beast.

"Beloved baby." Jace supplied. He rubbed his hand across my back reassuringly. The girl looked befuddled and slightly embarrassed.

"I hadn't known our Fair Queen knew any shadowhunters much less befriended them." The child looked Jace and I up and down, then made her eyes back towards Simon, Magnus, Alec, and Isabelle.

"Apart from Sebastian right?" Isabelle asked suspiciously as she made her way towards us.

"Well of course, but we don't speak much of him any more."

"Well since it's clear the Queen is away at the moment we ought to head off," Magnus said with a pained smile. "Oh and there won't be any need to share our little visit with the Fair Queen. That would ruin the surprise for when we return the next time." I silently thanked god for Magnus and his perfect ability to come up with the most believable lies.

"Oh most certainly, and I do hope we can talk again." The young girl chirped with a little giggle. She vaguely reminded me of Maureen, but I quickly shoved the thought away. I never thought tricking a faerie would be so easy, even if she was just a child. Things must have really changed since the war.

"I feel like that shouldn't have been so easy." I whispered to Jace as we made our way back to the main room of the Court.

"Same. But maybe luck was on our side for the first time ever." He whispered back with a dry laugh. His response replayed itself in my mind as I worked on opening up a portal.

Once the portal was opened, we all stepped through in silence.


End file.
